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Wednesday, January 5, 2011

I read Twyla Tharp's The Creative Habit with a red pen in hand as it became evident just a few pages in that I'd be making lots of margin notes. I want to share a baker's dozen of Tharp's ideas and words with you.

1. "Creativity is a habit, and the best creativity is a result of good work habits."

That seems like a contradiction, but it makes perfect sense. It also discredits the idea that inspiration strikes us unexpectedly and out of nowhere.

Multitasking keeps you from doing anything excellently. I love this thought! We are often so proud of ourselves for juggling many tasks simultaneously. Better, Tharp suggests, to concentrate on one thing at a time.

3. "Metaphor is the lifeblood of all art."

I've had a long-time affair with metaphors. I love them. It's what attracted me to the Renaissance and John Donne.

4. ". . . the real secret of creativity is to go back and remember."

I'm still mulling this one over. Seemingly a contradiction, but surely not as memory seems to incite invention.

5. "Before you can think out of the box, you have to start with a box."

Exceptionally cool thought. See picture above.

6. ". . . you don't have a really good idea until you combine two little ideas."

Perfect. Court the clash. The collision of opposites. Find a connection between seemingly unrelated ideas.

7. "Your creative endeavors can never be thoroughly mapped out ahead of time. You have to allow for the suddenly altered landscape, the change in plan, the accidental spark—and you have to see it as a stroke of luck rather than a disturbance of your perfect scheme."

I want that altered landscape. Take me off the mapped-out route.

8. "In creative endeavors luck is a skill."

We can make luck happen!

9. "Creativity is an act of defiance."

Again, the idea of collision. Look for trouble. Welcome it when it comes. At least when writing.

10. ". . . a generous spirit contributes to good luck."

Yes and yes again.

11. "You're only kidding yourself if you put creativity before craft. Craft is where our best efforts begin."

Students, are you paying attention?

12. "Without passion, all the skill in the world won't lift you above craft. Without skill, all the passion in the world will leave you eager but floundering. Combining the two is the essence of the creative life."

What could I add to this? Nothing.

13. "Failing, and learning from it, is necessary. Until you've done it, you're missing an important piece of your creative essence."

9 comments
:

Great list. I like the sentiment about multitasking. I really agree and I always think of something Winchester once said on an old M*A*S*H episode: "I do one thing. I do it very well, and then I move on to the next." I often think he's right.

My husband and I had an opportunity several years ago to attend a post-performance conversation with Twyla Tharp. She was very open and accessible. My husband even managed to get in a question to which Tharp took some time responding. He has her book, which is very marked up.

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About Me

I live and write poetry in New Jersey. My most recent book is The Crafty Poet: A Portable Workshop. I am also the author of three full-length books, most recently Temptation by Water (Wind Pub, 2010). My second collection, What Feeds Us, received the 2006 Quentin R. Howard Poetry Prize. I am also the author of Eve's Red Dress and two chapbooks, Against Perfection and Greatest Hits 1997-2010. My poems appear in a number of anthologies such as Garrison Keillor's Good Poems for Hard Times and in such journals as Harvard Review, Spoon River Poetry Review, and Prairie Schooner. My poems have been featured on Poetry Daily, Verse Daily, and The Writer’s Almanac.

What Feeds Us

Eve's Red Dress

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